LOS ANGELES — One of the toughest trips of the season takes place this week for No. 15 Saint Mary's, with the Gaels having to go down south before heading up north all in the same week. First, Saint Mary's will take on the LMU Lions on Thursday night before leaving on Friday for Portland to take on the Pilots, an afternoon contest on Saturday. Both games will be televised, with Thursday's on regional sports networks around the country, and Saturday's on CBS Sports Network.
 
THE DETAILS
No. 15 Saint Mary's Gaels (21-4, 10-0) at Loyola Marymount Lions (16-9, 6-5)
Thursday, February 9 at 7:00 pm
Gersten Pavilion – Los Angeles
TV: NBC Sports Bay Area (Anne Marie Anderson, Mike Montgomery) and other RSNs
Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
No. 15 Saint Mary's Gaels at Portland Pilots (12-14, 4-7)
Saturday, February 11 at 3:00 pm
Chiles Center – Portland, Ore.
TV: CBS Sports Network (Chris Lewis, Mike O'Donnell)
Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
It was action-packed week for the Gaels, who snagged two of their biggest wins of the season. On Thursday, the SMC held off the Dons at home for a 68-59 victory, the 500^th in the career of head coach Randy Bennett. It was an even more raucous environment on Saturday night as No. 12 Gonzaga came to town, and the two put on a show. The Gaels were down by eight points late in the second half but rallied back to force overtime, where they eventually won 78-70. The two victories kept Saint Mary's unbeaten in conference play with a record 10-0, and they now hold a two-game lead over Gonzaga for the regular season title.
 
MILESTONES UNLOCKED
Last week was a week full of milestones for Saint Mary's, headlined by the 500^th win for coach Bennett. He is just the 25^th coach all-time to reach 500 wins at one program, and the seventh active coach to do so. Win number 501 was even sweeter, as the Gaels beat Gonzaga in Moraga for the first time in consecutive seasons since 2007-08. In that win, Logan Johnson became the 38^th member of the 1,000-point club at Saint Mary's after his first basket of the game. With the Gaels victory moving them to No. 15 in the AP Poll and Gonzaga down to No. 16, this week is the first week since the week of February 5, 2018 where the Gaels have been ranked above the Bulldogs.
 
ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
In what has been a major bounce-back season for the Lions, Loyola Marymount has hit a bit of a bump in the last week. They had won four-straight since losing to the Gaels in Moraga, but then suffered road losses last week to BYU and San Diego, dropping their conference record to 6-5. They rely heavily on three-point shooting, with their offense ranking second behind Gonzaga in three-point attempts and three-pointers made. One of those guys taking shots is Cam Shelton, who leads the conference in shot attempts, and is averaging 19.3 points per game, which ranks second in the conference. Remember, LMU went to Gonzaga and beat the Bulldogs, so they are a dangerous team.
 
ABOUT PORTLAND
The unevenness of the Pilots season has continued, and that was extremely evident in their crazy loss to Pepperdine on Saturday, where they dropped the game 94-93 in double overtime. This team can score points, but their defense has struggled all season, allowing at least 75 points in all but two of their 10 conference games. Tyler Robertson has been their best scorer this season, leading the way with 15.0 points per game, and he also leads the conference in assists and free throws made. Despite the ups and downs this season, they've been great at the Chiles Center, with a record of 9-5 at home and 3-9 away from home.
 
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM
All Saint Mary's Men's Basketball gameday programs will be virtual during the 2022-23 season, and the fifth edition can be found HERE. In it, fans will find information about various rankings and recent results, while looking ahead to the next five conference games for SMC.
 
2022-23 YEARBOOK
The 2022-23 Saint Mary's Basketball Yearbook is available HERE. This contains all of your information on both Saint Mary's basketball programs, coach and player profiles, as well as Saint Mary's, administration, and fan information.